Edge of Madness

Synopsis: 1851, Manitoba's Red River Valley. As winter sets in, a young woman on the edge of madness arrives exhausted at the fort, a wilderness station, claiming she murdered her husband. She's placed in a cell; for the next several months, she sews while the local prefect, Henry Mullen, investigates. In flashbacks we see her arranged marriage to the hard-working but angry Simon, who takes her to his half-built homestead and abuses her. She's treated well by his younger brother George, with whom she laughs, but he's too weak to protect her. Is she guilty? At the homestead, Mullen hears a different story, one that exonerates Annie. Can he unearth the truth? Then what?
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Anne Wheeler
Production: LionsGate Entertainment
 
IMDB:
6.3
R
Year:
2002
99 min
101 Views


(heavy breathing)

(weeping)

- What the hell?

- Woman:
Is this the jail?

- Aye.

- Woman #2:
Keep the door closed.

- George!

- Man:
George?

- Woman:
George!

- Man:
What do you want?

- George.

- What do you want?

George?

- Come back here.

- George!

- I did it.

- Did what?

I killed him, my husband.

It was me.

I'll get Mr. Mullen.

You stay here.

Oh, George!

Je suis Marie.

Y'a pas de George ici.

(weeps)

She's undone, sir.

Driven.

Carried on

like a madwoman.

Man #2:
Why not

send her to the church?

Reverend's away

from the fort, sir.

(coughing)

It's too hot in here.

It's a jail, not a bloody inn.

Aye, sir.

Mullen:
So...

you say you've killed a man?

Man #1:
Your husband.

What's your name?

Mullen:

It's a simple question.

Your name.

- She can talk.

- This girl speaks French.

- Man #1:
Careful, sir.

- She's a strange woman.

Here, sit up.

Come on.

(woman pants)

Mullen:
She's covered

in scratches.

She's gone wild, sir.

Fill out the forms, Donnely.

Lock her up.

I'll take her statement

tomorrow.

- Should we feed her, sir?

- I don't care.

This weather was sent

from hell, lass.

I'd rather freeze

than hang, though.

Mullen's voice:

Journal of Mr. Henry Mullen,

Chief Recorder, Hudson Bay Company.

November 15th:

In the absence of Governor Simpson,

it's fallen to me

to investigate

this strange young woman

Who appeared last night

at the fort.

As I am inexperienced

in these matters,

I asked Dr. Jenkins

to assist me.

First of all,

I want your name.

Fine, then.

Who's George? Your husband?

Perhaps he took shelter

with some natives.

Or perished.

- I've done a terrible thing.

- You said you killed your husband.

And George as well.

Mon Dieu!

How did you kill him?

With a rock.

I heard his skull crack.

Jenkins:

And where did this happen?

At the homestead.

We were building a fireplace.

We had lots of rocks.

- Why did you kill him?

- Because I wanted to.

I wanted to kill my husband,

so I did it.

- You haven't told us your name.

- Annie.

- And your husband?

- Simon.

And who's George?

His brother.

- Can you examine her now?

- No!

Right. Quite frankly, I'd rather

have her cleaned up first.

Would you like that?

Nice hot bath.

Good. Take her over

to the house, Ruth.

Jenkins:
It's not

in a woman's nature.

Mullen:
In the middle

of bloody nowhere,

cut off from civilization,

people do the unthinkable.

True, but no one has been

reported missing.

Nobody knows

What goes on out there.

She got lost,

quite likely.

How old do you think

she is?

it's hard to tell.

I'll have to take

a closer look.

What's this?

Purple.

Yes, I love purple.

Mmm...

your book?

I'll just put it

over here, okay?

It's burnt, huh?

Okay.

You get in now.

we'll get some more water.

(churchbell tolls)

(music) Oh what needless pain

we bear (music)

(music) Oh what needless pain

we bear (music)

(music) All because

we do not carry (music)

(music) All because

we do not carry (music)

(music) We do not carry everything

to God in prayer. (music)

(whistling)

- You cannot go with him, Annie.

- (water splattering)

Annie, get out!

Come on, get out!

Come on!

- Annie...

- I have to get dressed!

Woman:

I don't understand.

I told her to finish

her bath, get dressed...

Miss Creswell, I don't know.

She knew he was waiting.

Good... let him choose

one of the other girls.

- I want him to choose me.

- You can't go with him, Annie.

- Again, I had the dream.

- I have my own dreams, Sadie.

I want babies and a home...

- and a husband.

- Had a baby once.

Came out of a big boil

on my stomach, the size of a rat.

They took it away,

fed it to the dogs.

- That's a lie.

- It's true. I almost died!

Man:
I do not care

if she can sing.

I need a wife

who can work.

Ah, here she is.

- She's awfully wee.

- She's strong.

And willing.

She's French, but can read

and write English.

No need.

She can sew just about anything...

suits, shirts...

she's been well instructed.

She'll do.

You won't be sorry,

monsieur.

You want to drown yourself?

The Scots make good whiskey.

At least they're good

for something.

- (knocking on door)

- Here she is, sir.

I put a damper on her.

My own.

- Thank you, Ruth.

- I found this.

It's burnt.

- Was there a fire?

- She won't talk, sir.

It's a mistake

to teach girls to read.

- I agree.

- Thank you.

Come.

Sit on the table, please.

- Mrs...

- Simon.

Come sit on the table.

We'll begin your examination.

- I'll leave it to you.

- No!

Come on.

Come sit down.

Come sit down!

Come here and sit!

Ah! we'll tie you down

if that's what it takes!

Just hold her, Mr. Mullen.

Please.

Good.

Thank you.

This won't take long.

I examine everyone that comes

into the jail, Mrs. Simon.

It's for your own good.

Hows your sleeping?

Fine.

Have you heard

from your wife?

There's nothing more to say.

Her position's straightforward.

She won't be coming back.

And you, have you made

a decision yet?

Well, I make

lots of decisions and then...

I change my mind.

Oh...

some frostbite.

Must be sore.

Yes.

She's had

a rather rough time.

Lots of bruises

and scratches.

Yes, look at this.

A bite mark here

on her hand.

Human?

Yes.

Now lie back.

Just lie back.

Mullen:
Come on.

- Move your legs apart, please.

- No!

- Move your legs apart.

- No!

No one is going

to hurt you.

Jenkins:
Good. Uh... huh.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Alice Munro

Alice Ann Munro (, née Laidlaw ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as having revolutionized the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move forward and backward in time. Her stories have been said to "embed more than announce, reveal more than parade."Munro's fiction is most often set in her native Huron County in southwestern Ontario. Her stories explore human complexities in an uncomplicated prose style. Munro's writing has established her as "one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction", or, as Cynthia Ozick put it, "our Chekhov." Munro is the recipient of many literary accolades, including the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature for her work as "master of the contemporary short story", and the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work. She is also a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction and was the recipient of the Writers' Trust of Canada's 1996 Marian Engel Award, as well as the 2004 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for Runaway. more…

All Alice Munro scripts | Alice Munro Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Edge of Madness" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/edge_of_madness_7470>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Edge of Madness

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.